Tire carrier



May 10,1927.

- R. F. F-REEMAN TIRE CARRIER Filed April 4. 1926v I Inventor Z5, jfiaa/rzafi @Wm/ Aim Attarney Patented May 10, 1927.

UNITED STATES 1,52 PATENT orFieE.

.RAIiPI-I r. FREEMAN, or ASHLAND, KANSAS, AsSIeNoR or ONE-HALF 'IO ROBERT'D.

' SMITH, or ASHLAND, KANSAS.

TIRE CARRIER,

Application filed April 14, 1926.' Seria1 No. 101,996.

Mypresent invention pertains to tire carriers for motor vehicles, and it has for its general object the provision .of a peculiar and advantageous device for carrying tires in an out of the way position on motor trucks, the said device being possessedof such capacity of adjustment that it may be fitted to clifferentlyarranged sills and for the carrymg of tires .of different sizes, and this in such manner that the tires will not be subjected to frictional wear and hence-will not. be de teriorated incident to the carriage thereof as spare tires.

A Other objects and practical advantages of the invention will be fully understood from the following description and claims when the same are read in connection with the drawings, accompanying and forming part of this specification, in which :A-

Figure 1 is a rear elevation illustrating the preferred embodiment of my invention as the same appears when properly arranged relative to the body of a motor truck.

Figure 2 is a top plan View of my improvement, then'i-otor truck being shown in dotted line, 7

Figures 3 to 6 are perspectives of parts comprised in my novel carrier and hereinafter explicitly referred to.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the views of thedrawings. r c

I show in Figures 1 and 2, a truck body 1, the said showing being in dotted lines.

,1 also show in Figures 1 and 2 the arrangement of my improvement relative to the truck body 1.

Among other elements my improved tire carrier comprises two spaced cradles 2 which are of hanger type and are preferably formed of appropriate metals. The said cradles 2 are reversely arranged, Figures 1 and 2, and each is formed in one piece, and

each includes a concavo-convex portion 3 to conform to the transverse curvature of a tire or tire casing. Each of the said cradles 2 is also provided with a seat or rest l for the rim portion of a tire, and is further provided with a pendent portion 5 on an angularly disposed arm 6, the said arm 6 being longitudinally slot-ted at 7 and being designed to be connected to a sill 8 or any other appropriate part of a truck body through the medium of a bolt 9 equipped with a nut or through the medium of any other appropriate means compatible with the purpose of my invention and adapted to lend itself to outward and inward adjustment of the cradles 2 and the subsequent adjustable fixing of the same. The tire rest portion l of each cradle 2 is of rightangle formation, and extending from the-vertically disposed portion of said rest l is an arm 10 longitudinally slotted at 11 and designed for the connection of an angular retainer 12 and also designed for'the adjustable connection of one end of-a transverse tie bar 13, Figures 1, 2 and 4. The retainer 12 complementary to each cradle 2 is designed to rest above the rim portion of the tire and hold the tire on the seat 4, and in this connection it will be appreciated that the major portion of the tire will be spaced from the vconcavo-convex portion 3 and the pendent arm 5 of the cradle and hence will not be subjected to frictional wear during the carriage of the spare tire. By virtue of the slot 11 in the cradles 2 it. will "be manifest that the said cradles may be adjustable toward and from each other and adjustably fixed with respect to the tie bar 13; and itwill further be appreciated that by virtue of the slot 7 the cradles 2 may be adjustably fixed at different distances apart so as to. properly accommodate and carry tires ofditferent sizes. he bolts Hwhichconnect the retainers 12 to the cradles 2 n'iay be and preferably are extended through the slots 11 of said cradies 2.

In addition to the elements thus far ex plicitly alluded to, my novel carrier. com prisesa third cradle 2 the said third cradle 2* being designed to be'used in a position at. right angles to a line extending to the cradles 2, and being designed to be spaced from the rear end of the truck body as are also the cradles 2 so that the tire, designated by 15, will be carried entirely under and in parallel relation to the body 1 and with the rearmost portion of the spare tire entirely in front of the rear end of the body 1 so that no portion of the spare tire will offer any projection at the rear end of the body 1.

The auxiliary cradle 92 has a concavoconvex portion 3 and a rest 4 and a hanger arm 5 Similar to the said parts of the cradles 2. It will be readilyounderstood, however, from Figure 5 that the auxiliary Ill) cradle has an outwardly directed arm 6" at its upper end, said arm 6* being slotted longitudinally at 7 for the adjustable connection thereof to a portion of the body 1 as designated by 16 in Figure 2. It will also be noticed in Figure, 5 that the right angle seat 4 is merged into a long arm to which is longitiulinally slotted at ll for adjustable connection of the said arm ll) to the tie bar 1.3 at the point l7 and through the medium of a bolt 18 or other appropriate means. It follows from the described con-- struction and mode oi connecting the auxiliary cradle :2, that the said cradle 2" is adapted to be adinslt-al longitudinally of the truck body 1 and at right angles to a line extending to the cradles .5 and adjustably fixed so that the auxiliary cradle 2 as well as the cradles will lend itself to the ready adaptation oil' the device for the proper carriage of spare tires oi ditlerentsizes. It is not necessary to retain the rim portion of a spare tire in th seat --iof the auxiliary cradle 2" and hence the said auxih iary cradle 52* is, by 'n'el'ereinre, not equipped with a retainer 12 such as used upon and in conjunction with each 01 the cradles .2.

it will be apparent from the fore oing that the retainers '12 are delaclmbly as well as adjustably mounted, and that. therefore, a spare tire may be readily placed in and as readily removed from my novel carrier.

Having described my invention, what I. claim and desire to seeure. by Letters-Patent, is:

1. In combination, a vehicle body or frame, cradles disposed under the body or trame and spaced apart, each oi said cradles having a longitiulinally slotted arm opposed and adjustably connected to the underside of the body or frame and also having a pendent arm and a coneave-convex portion a; the lower end of the pendent arm and a right angle seat. at the opposite end of said concave-convex portion and a longitudinally slotted arm extending inwardly from said seat, angular retainers arranged above the seat of said cradles and connected. to the inwardly extending arms thereof, a tie bar adjnstahly connected to the inwardly extending arms of the said omdles and an auxiliary cradle disposed at an angle to the first-named cradles and the said tie bar and having an upper bar adjustably connected with the body or frame and a pendent arm on said bar and a concavoronvex portion at the lower end of said pendent. arm, and an angular seat at the opposite end of the concavo-com ex portion and an arm into which said seal is mere-Ml, said arm adjustably connected with the said tie bar.

:2. in combination, a vehicle body or frame, cradles disposed under and connected with said body or frame and spaced apart and having lower inwardly extending portions and seats for the rim portion of a tire at the inner ends of said portions retainers connecttal with said cradles and arranged above and in opposite relation to said seats, means connected with and extending be tween the said cradles, and an auxiliary cradle ul'l'lll'lgIPtl under the body or frame of the vehicle and at angle to the first-named cradles and the connection tl'ierebelween, and having a seat to receive the rim portion of a tire and connected with the means between the lirst-nannal cradles 8. ln mmbimition, a vehicle body or Frame, and a spare tire carrier arranged entirely under said body or .lrame and made up ot cradles disposed transversely of the body or frame and hung therefrom and having seats to receive the rim )ortion of a spare tire, and a longitudinally disposed auxiliary cradle disposed under and hung from the body or frame and connectedwith the first-named cradles and having a seat to receive the rim portion oi. a tire; the transversely disposed cradles being equipped with retainers arranged above and in spaced relation to the seats of the trzuisversely disposed cradles.

In testimony whereof I afl'ix my signature.

RALPH F. FRE EMAN.

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